I’m the kind of millennial that loves to try trendy events around the city. I’ve signed up for MeetUp, pulsd.com, Groupon and Free NYC Events all to be in the loop of the next cool thing to do in this colorful city. There’s this awesome bar called Videology in Williamsburg that hosts movie trivia and sing-alongs. I was lucky enough to get tickets to their Spice World sing-along. And being me I just had to get into character…

Earlier today I was chatting up my grandmother (this isn’t something I typically do but is something I typically feel guilty about. I am no better than you when it comes to calling my grandmother) having one of our catch-ups. She told me what was going on in her life and I filled her in on what I’ve been doing lately. For example: running two blogs, editing videos for my new YouTube channel and securing a new contributing writer opportunity here at Collective Lifestyle. While I was jabbering away about how excited I was to finally be engaged in activities that brought me pure and total joy, I noticed that the phone got very quiet. Dead almost.

In this series, I would like to explore the topic of branding with a focus on aesthetics. I will be exploring how your brand is affected by the fonts, colors, photos and even the captions you choose for your social media platforms. I’ll tell you what works and what doesn’t as well as give you tips on how to have a more uniform look across all your platforms.

Visitors should be able to come to your blog, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page and be able to tell right off the bat that these all come from the same brand. Your Facebook shouldn’t have a style aesthetic that is contrary to the photos you post on Instagram. All of your brand’s social media platforms should share the same look and feel.

As a fashion blogger and YouTuber, Instagram is by far my favorite social platform. Instagram allows me to express myself as a fashion lover through photos I attentively choose, keeping my brand and audience in mind. When visitors check out my Instagram they get a glimpse into what my blog is all about and who I am as a blogger. Instagram is just as important as your blog itself, you could even call it the appetizer. But Instagram is even more important than the appetizer, it’s almost like the potatoes to your steak or the peas to your rice, pay special attention to what and how you post on Instagram.

I spent more time than I should on Instagram, so I come across a number of bloggers and brands on there. What I find more often than not is that a lot of people have no idea what they are doing on this site. For example, if I go to the explore page and find a dope shot of a blogger posing in her latest OOTD(outfit of the day) I get so excited I’ll want to check out her Instagram. Sometimes I’m disappointed to find that bloggers and brands don’t take Instagram as seriously as they should. I’ll find quote graphics with watermarks and colors that are loud and clash with the other pictures on their page or I’ll find images that seem as if they weren’t even posted by the same person.

I find that bloggers and brands forget that Instagram has the option to view any profile in both new feed format and thumbnail format. Anyone can come to your Instagram profile and click each picture of scroll down your feed. Consider how your Instagram looks in both formats. Make your profile as aesthetically pleasing as you would your blog or website. If you neglect to do so you could lose potential followers. I noticed once I started paying attention to how my Instagram looked in thumbnail and news feed form that my follower count and likes began to grow.

Don’t just throw up any old photo you took that day. Take the time out to edit and choose what works best for your profile and brand.

Backgrounds can make or break an image. Choose cool backgrounds like street art and rich, vibrant landscapes. Make the pictures interesting. Sure you’ve got an amazing product to showcase but remember that a picture is a complete tool featuring a dozen different elements. Don’t be afraid to do your research concerning photography.

Quotes for folks. Put quotes in the captions that support your voice as a brand. Or ask your followers a question to encourage engagement. We want comments converted into followers. Engage your audience so they are enticed to stick around for some of your other content.

Cool it on the hashtags #bro! Save the hashtags for the comment section of your post as opposed to putting it immediately in the captions of your photos. That way everything remains uncluttered.

Quality over quantity. Choose high quality, crisp bright photos only. It’s a proven fact that HQ, sharp photographs get the most likes on Instagram so make sure you invest in the quality of your photos.

Edit like a champ! Use editing apps such as Facetune, Piclab or Photoshop to correct any imperfections. So you’ve found a photographer, got a great camera but still your pictures are missing something. That’s okay! You can also edit those minor discrepancies but don’t go overboard. Social media users love authenticity and can spot a fake from a mile away.

Remember, Instagram and other social media platforms are some of the first impressions potential clients get of your brand; make the most of it! Don’t hesitate to let your creative team flex their skills.

I fought the urge to say sorry today and won.
It was difficult but when you consider the amount of times women say sorry for no reason, it’s ridiculous. We say sorry when we talk too much. Sorry when we tell someone to do their job. Sorry when we don’t make sense.

I’m not talking about saying sorry for bumping into someone or saying sorry for making a mistake, I mean apologizing for getting the job done before someone else or for “sounding confusing”. These aren’t valid reasons to say the word “sorry”.

You don’t have to make yourself small to gain respect, especially in the workplace. I model my career ambitions after my mother’s. She may have her flaws but if there’s one thing I respect about my mother it is her work manner. She is a boss. Both literally speaking and Beyoncé-speaking. In “Who Run the World” Beyoncé croons “strong enough to bare the children, then get back to business.” That describes my mother to a T. She’s the woman who will enter into any new work environment and kill it. She can command a diverse room of both male and female employees without hesitation. She can tell you what you aren’t doing right and what you’re doing well in the same sentence. She can effectively and efficiently follow protocol without skipping a beat, all while looking fabulous. And one thing my mother does not tolerate is disrespect, neither in the home nor the workplace. So whenever I make a decision I consider what would she do in this moment, what would she think of me? She wouldn’t bend over backwards that’s for damn sure.

Resisting the urge to apologize was one of the hardest thing I had ever done (I actually sat here and retyped an email several times before sending it out). I was so afraid of not being considered polite that I didn’t care if someone was falsely accusing me of incompetency. When I weighed the situation against itself I decided that having my work ethic come into question for no reason was more important than apologizing. In the end the recipient was pleased with my response and I even got some congrats, too.

I made the mistake of starting Orange is the New Black in the middle of wrapping up my summer semester. BIG big mistake. I’m addicted. It has completely sidetracked me as I managed to watch 8 episodes before I finally cut myself off. Last week, I challenged myself to set and complete a short list of goals. I was to blog twice on Some Like It Thrift, blog once here, learn origami and hang out with my friends. I ended up completely all except the origami one. Needless to say, origami is officially coming off being that this is the millionth time I’ve set this particular goal.

Despite the fact that I failed to learn the art of paper folding, I did accomplish a few things I hadn’t out on my list. I submitted two articles to two different websites. This isn’t like me at all because usually fear takes over me and I hold myself back. I hold myself back because I’m afraid of rejection or failing in general. I usually have no idea what I’m doing because I don’t want to go down a path that may lead nowhere so I just sort of circle around with no real direction. But not this past week! This past week I actually stepped outside of my comfort zone and sought out some opportunities that would push me towards my goals. It’s new and exciting territory for me.

I’ll make a post once the two articles I submitted get approved or not.